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Silverfleet Capital, the European private equity firm, has agreed to acquire AGR Holdings AS (“AGR”), the petroleum services division of Oslo-listed AGR Group ASA, in a NOK 1,640 million (c. €195m) transaction. Completion will be on or around end of August.

AGR is the largest independent well management group operating globally. AGR delivers well, reservoir, HSEQ, and facilities management services to the upstream oil and gas industry. The company also offers rig access management, consultancy manpower, expert software solutions and tailored industry training. AGR’s client base comprises some of the largest international and national oil companies as well as a wide range of small and medium sized operators.

Working with more than 650 people, the company operates in all regional main oil hubs around the world including UK, Norway, US, Australia, CIS and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 2000, AGR has completed over 500 well projects in 25 countries on six continents. Additionally, its teams have delivered over 1,000 reservoir studies in only five years in major basins and reservoir types globally.

AGR is a pioneer in managing multi-client, multi-well drilling campaign models in the North Sea and has established itself as a global supplier of rig campaigns, drilling and subsurface solutions as well as offering bespoke training for the upstream oil industry.

Silverfleet partner, Adrian Yurkwich commented: “This investment offers an opportunity to back an excellent team that is providing the highest quality integrated solutions for the entire field life cycle of upstream oil and gas. We look forward to working with AGR’s management team to further expand its operations internationally.”

Åge Landro, CEO of AGR, commented:“As the world’s leading well management and subsurface consultancy group, AGR has enjoyed a strong market position and strong growth over the last few years. Moving forward, we are excited to be partnering with our new investor Silverfleet Capital. We are committed to providing the highest quality of service to our clients and with Silverfleet’s support, AGR will be able to pursue its continuing international expansion strategy and to deepen its range of upstream services.”

The Silverfleet Capital team that worked on the transaction includes Adrian Yurkwich and David Mackenzie who both will join the board of AGR, Robert Knight and Jakob Wagner. All are based in Silverfleet Capital’s London office.

AGR is the third investment that Silverfleet has made in the Nordic region in the last 15 months and Silverfleet has been an active investor in the region since 1996, when it invested in Finnish Chemicals Oy. Recent investments include Denmark’s Phase One A/S, a leading producer of medium format digital camera systems and image processing (March 2014); and A/S Cimbria, the leading global manufacturer of seed and grain processing equipment (April 2013).

Silverfleet Capital was advised by Evercore International LLP (corporate finance), Schjødt AS and Travers Smith LLP (legal), PwC (financial and tax due diligence), LEK and Calash (commercial due diligence) and PwC (tax structuring).

Bank financing for the transaction is to be provided by Nordea and DnB.